According to USA Today, 98% of search engine's employees gave money to Democrats in '04.February 14, 2005: 8:36 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Google Inc. employees took out their wallets and showed overwhelming support for the Democratic Party last year, according to a report Monday in USA Today.

A USA Today campaign finance analysis found that, of the company's overall political contributions, 98 percent went to Democrats, the biggest share among top tech donors.

The online search company's employees gave $207,650 to federal candidates during last year's election campaign, which includes the White House race between Democrat John Kerry and the winning incumbent Republican, President Bush. The contributions were up from just $250 in 2000 when Google was a start-up, according to the paper.

The paper said that 53 percent of the broader tech industry's $25.9 million went to Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign finance.

Political contributions by the industry may be in response to recent debates on Capitol Hill over Internet taxes, offshoring of jobs and other issues.

Google giving is still small compared with other tech donors, USA Today said. Microsoft employees gave $3.1 million last year -- and of that amount, 60 percent went to Democrats, according to the report.

Google (Research) shares have risen 87% since its IPO in August, bringing its market cap to over $51 billion.

On Monday, 176 million additional shares of Google stock, which have been locked up under the company's complex stock-release program, are scheduled to hit the market.